Rathbones Group PLC Purchases 181,746 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Rathbones Group PLC raised its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 25.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 903,076 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 181,746 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $156,779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,007,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,740,049,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539,889 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Ferguson by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,991,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,039,935,000 after acquiring an additional 1,231,120 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Ferguson by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,541,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $905,230,000 after purchasing an additional 161,662 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 944.4% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,537,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $613,944,000 after buying an additional 3,198,477 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,215,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $557,082,000 after purchasing an additional 18,036 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of FERG opened at $155.22 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $31.04 billion, a PE ratio of 18.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $144.82 and a 12-month high of $225.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $171.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $186.33.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by ($0.06). Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.74 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $205.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Ferguson from $189.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Zelman & Associates lowered shares of Ferguson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Ferguson in a report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $189.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $198.62.

About Ferguson

Ferguson plc distributes plumbing and heating products in the United States and Canada. It offers plumbing and heating solutions to customers in the residential, commercial, civil/infrastructure, and industrial end markets. The company also provides expertise, solutions, and products, including infrastructure, plumbing, appliances, fire, fabrication, and others, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning products under the Ferguson brand name.